SENIOR officials of both the University of Guyana (UG) and the Medgar Evers College of New York met last week and vowed to work closely with each other on enhancing the operation of the local institution.That meeting took place in New York, where UG Registrar Dr Nigel Gravesande, in thanking Medgar Evers for the invitation to work together, said that though different, the two tertiary institutions can work together in that they can learn from each other in many ways.

Besides, he said, the Medgar Evers reputation of being one of five student-friendly colleges the world over is something that the UG can take pattern from.

“I am absolutely delighted that we can learn from this experience,” Dr Gravesande said, adding that another plus in the New York-based institution’s favour is that it matriculates students into its programme in a seamless way.

“…and when they don’t even meet the matriculation requirements, you have a structured programme for access, which permits them to matriculate. That is one thing UG can learn from; if there are no students, there are no us,” Dr. Gravesande said.

KEY TO SUCCESS
Stressing the importance of giving each and every student the opportunity of attaining a higher education, Dr. Gravesande said a student-friendly and focused environment is a critical component of success.

“Clearly, our intention is to benefit from your experiences in the area of research,” he assured his Medgar Evers colleagues, adding: “Any university or college worth its salt has got to place a lot of emphasis on ensuring that our student population uses that intellectual capital for generations currently living and generations to come.”

He said, too, that based on the Medgar Evers track record as an institution of academic excellence, the UG and its students stand to benefit from exchanges on many levels, which he considers a win-win situation for both parties.

“The seeds that we are sowing today, it is our expectation that it would bring perfect results and wonderful blessings to us,” he stated.

UG, Guyana’s lone indigenous tertiary institution, is 54 years old. It has a student population (full and part-time) of approximately 8,000 students and a staff complement of approximately 1,000 across two campuses (Turkeyen and Tain). Medgar Evers, on the other hand, has a student population of 7000 across two campuses.

According to Dr. Gravesande, the UG collaboration with Medgar Evers would enrich UG students immensely, and would also aid in working with best practices.

“We are going to be richer in the areas of sciences, technology, health sciences, and law,” he said, adding:
“I hope we can put something on the table so you can also benefit from our own experiences.”

MUCH TO LEARN
Professor of Biology at Medgar Evers, Dr Mohsin Patwary, in brief remarks, said the UG can look forward to support from the institution.

Dr Patwary, Dean of the School of Science, Health and Technology for 12 years, said much can be learnt from the institution, in that it not only has the human resource, infrastructure and support, but would “do even much better in the future.”

As part of the rebirth of UG, a team of senior officials visited the Medgar Evers College to discuss opportunities for collaboration. Among those on the team, besides Dr. Gravesande, were Vice-Chancellor Dr. Ivelaw Griffith and Dr. Emmanuel Cummings of the Faculty of Health Sciences.